new chain assembly problem

I was assembling my new road bike and on the first ride I discovered the the link that I put the new chain together with is now stiff and I can't get it free with oil. It is a Shimano Ultegra chain and I had to take out a couple of links and connect it together. It is now stiff, I did use the break away chain pin that came with the new chain.

What to do now? I thought that once you put one of these connecting pins in you were not supposed to remove.

Fix that stiff link

Originally Posted by DZOO

I was assembling my new road bike and on the first ride I discovered the the link that I put the new chain together with is now stiff and I can't get it free with oil. It is a Shimano Ultegra chain and I had to take out a couple of links and connect it together. It is now stiff, I did use the break away chain pin that came with the new chain.

What to do now? I thought that once you put one of these connecting pins in you were not supposed to remove.

When you press a pin through a link to reconnect a chain it squeezes the plates together and makes them tight. If you have a good chain tool it will have a second set of teeth to lay the chain across. you need to put the opposite side of the chain facing the pin as you did when you press the chain together. Then just put a bit of a turn on it and viola! Nice a smooth operation. If that still dosen't get it, grasp the chain sideways so that your thumbs are on the plates and Give it a slight bend. Hope it works for ya.

You should be able to purchase additional breakaway connector pins at your LBS, then replace the bad pin/ link combination from the links you removed.(you did save them, right?). If that doesn't work, you may have to throw yourself on the mercy of a good bicycle mechanic. My local shop only charges $3.00 labor to size & install a new chain. Don